Saira Banu's Nostalgic Journey: Recalling Her Debut Film Junglee 55 Years Later

Sharing a poster of the movie, Saira wrote, "Fifty-five years ago, a young, wide-eyed girl stood before the camera for the very first time, uncertain, nervous, and trembling with both excitement and fear. That girl was me.” She further wrote, “Upon my return from London, I was blessed with film offers from prestigious studios like A.V.M. and Gemini and filmmakers I deeply admired, like Kamal Amrohi, Ramanand Sagar, B.R. Chopra, and dear S. Mukherjee Uncle of Filmalaya, the man who gave Indian cinema radiant stars like Sadhana and Asha Parekh. He had initially wanted to cast me opposite Sunil Dutt Sahab in Hum Hindustani, but destiny had other plans. His brother, Subodh Mukherjee Uncle, was readying a new venture called *JUNGLEE*, a story that needed a mischievous, spirited girl…”

Adding further, she wrote, “Perhaps, I was just that! A curious blend of tomboy and recluse, climbing trees barefoot one moment and hiding shyly behind curtains the next.” For the uninitiated, Junglee starred Shammi Kapoor as Shekhar and Saira Banu as Rajkumari and Mala. It also starred veteran actors like Lalita Pawar, Anwar Hussain, Shashikala, Agha, and Asif Sen in supporting roles.

The music was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and went on to become chartbusters. Even 55 years after its release, the movie and song remain iconic. Songs like “Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe”, “Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par”, “Kashmir Ki Kali Hoon Main” and others went on to become extreme superhits. These tracks remain classics of Hindi cinema and define Shammi Kapoor's energetic romantic image.

Junglee was Saira Banu's debut film, and she earned a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress. The film was a major box office hit and solidified Shammi Kapoor's “Yahoo!” loverboy persona.

The iconic shout, “Yahoo!” from the song “Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe”, became one of the most memorable moments in Bollywood history that has been aped by many Bollywood stars in remembrance of Shammi Kapoor.

–IANS

- IANS